# Do you excel at anything? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 11, 2019, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-excel-at-anything/835377 "2019-06-11T15:17:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-excel-at-anything/835377/61 "2019-06-12T19:19:41Z")
Not sure if this is a skill, but it is something I excel at: I’m the person who always gets asked for directions. It’s not that I always know how to get somewhere - far from it - but I am the person who always gets asked. And very often this happens on holiday, when I’m asked by other tourists - I’m not sure if this is because I somehow look like an expert traveller or because I get mistaken for a local. A few recent ones I remember - because my language skills were just about good enough for me to feel like a smartass - being asked where _le quartier rouge_ was in Amsterdam; and _Wo is der Hafen?_ in Paphos (one of several different inquiries, all from Germans). All answered in the language of the inquirer (hah!). Just a couple of examples, but it happens all the time. j ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-excel-at-anything/835377/62 "2019-06-12T21:37:39Z")
I pick up on any kind of art in no time flat. When I take a class in any art technique, all I hear is “Oh, you’ve done this before.” And I’m always way ahead of the other students. And music. I can learn any instrument easily, and can sing quite well (basso) and sight read music easily. I can also dance very well… at least I could when I was healthier physically. In college, I excelled in math, philosophy and psych. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2019, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-excel-at-anything/835377/63 "2019-06-13T01:01:19Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I’m good at trivia, but that’s just because of my memory. Once something gets into my brain, it never leaves and I can recall it instantaneously. Makes me good at simple math and spelling, too. > > I get things done. If I say I’m going to do something, consider it done. > > And I’m one of those super always on time people. Part of my New England background. You are my kind of people. > [@JohnT](#): > > … **Reading body language** : You all are open books, I’m just sayin’. The way you are holding your chin, the roll of your shoulders as you walk, where you cast your eyes, what are your hands doing, how your feet are pointed, interruptions in your voice and motions… I capture all that shit and _get_ it. Nervous? I can tell. Just had a mind-blowing thought? I caught it too by the intake of your breath, how you stopped a motion, by how your eyes widened. Bored? Yeah, sorry, you’re not hiding that shit from me. Not that I doubt you, but how can you be so sure you are always right? I mean, my feet may be pointed that way because I am overdue for a toenail clipping. Maybe my shoulders roll when I walk because, well, my shoulders roll when I walk. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2019, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-excel-at-anything/835377/64 "2019-06-13T01:39:26Z")
If I do say so myselk, I am a fine baker. It is, after all, my profession, what I have worked at for thirty years, and was trained for. I also crochet, both yarn and thread. I have done a couple tablecloths that won prizes. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2019, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-excel-at-anything/835377/65 "2019-06-13T01:57:16Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Reading, spelling, and being on time. You know, stuff nobody really cares about. Swoon! ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2019, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-excel-at-anything/835377/66 "2019-06-13T02:00:10Z")
I excel at making people feel uncomfortable. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2019, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-excel-at-anything/835377/67 "2019-06-13T02:20:57Z")
I make awesome fruit pies and other desserts, and am a decent home cook. I have an avocation that I am told I excel at, but don’t want to go into detail here. (no, it’s not sexual, just competitive :D) I excel at process detail and gap analysis, which is important in my job. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2019, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-excel-at-anything/835377/68 "2019-06-13T11:44:48Z")
Computer programming and related tasks. (I was called “the best microprogrammer in Silicon Valley.”) My boss knew I had zero formal training in electronics but asked me to also design digital circuits so I “wouldn’t get bored.” Later, the best circuit designer I ever met called me the best circuit designer he’d ever met. Software/firmware coding and digital circuit design. That’s about it. If it weren’t for those talents I’d have ended up institutionalized one way or another. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2019, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-excel-at-anything/835377/69 "2019-06-14T01:40:12Z")
Ooh, ooh, I thought of another one. Parallel parking. I learned it out of necessity at the age of 16. Some folks get wide-eyed when they see how easily I can glide into a tight space, like it’s a magic trick or something. mmm ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2019, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-excel-at-anything/835377/70 "2019-06-14T16:32:30Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > You are my kind of people. > > Not that I doubt you, but how can you be so sure you are always right? > > I mean, my feet may be pointed that way because I am overdue for a toenail clipping. Maybe my shoulders roll when I walk because, well, my shoulders roll when I walk. > mmm Sorry, missed this earlier! Obviously, I can’t be “always” certain I’m right, but the actions you describe don’t occur in a vacuum. If you’re holding your foot funny and you occasionally wince and your gait shows you favoring one side over the other… well, I might not pick up “EMERGENCY TOENAIL CLIPPING NEEDED!!!”, but I’ll pick up that something is causing you physical discomfort. If, on the other hand, you’re just holding your foot funny without any other cues, I likely wouldn’t think a thing of it. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2019, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-excel-at-anything/835377/71 "2019-06-14T18:41:33Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > I excel at making people feel uncomfortable. Yeah, but rolling across their toes is kinda cheating. I excel at making other people feel good about their trivia knowledge. I am so good at telling yarns people almost never know if I’m preaching gospel or having them on. It’s gotten to the point where there’s usually someone hitting the Googles when I launch into an explanation of something obscure. Not long ago my audience was certain they’d caught me when I started talking about the loris. People were starting to giggle because I got dead serious and dug deeper into the mechanism of the critter’s venom production. Then someone looked up from their phone and muttered, “No way…he’s being serious.” Total rush. I excel at Excel, at least in any office environment I’ve worked in. Lastly, I’m better than most people at handling & raising cats. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2019, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-excel-at-anything/835377/72 "2019-06-14T19:36:04Z")
Writing - but since I am too chicken to publish yet, you will have to take my word for it. Reading and Remembering - If it is interesting to me, I can both speed read and remember what I have read. Handy, but I wish it worked for topics I don’t find interesting 🙂 Public Speaking - I am good at this, as well as convincing-bordering-on-manipulating…to the point that some people have suggested I should start my own cult. I am far too ethical for that garbage. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2019, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-excel-at-anything/835377/73 "2019-06-14T22:45:05Z")
Yes. If there’s one thing I’ve figured out over the years, it’s that you can excel at just about anything if you stick with it long enough. I’m considered an expert in my professional field (doesn’t matter what it is), but it’s obvious that I just became one by doing it for a longer period of time than most people. One day you just sort of realize that you’re better than 99% of people at what you do. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2019, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-excel-at-anything/835377/74 "2019-06-14T22:51:34Z")
I’ve made it to the top reaches of my profession/industry, so I’ll count that. I used to have amazing face/name recall - if we’d had a workplace conversation ten years ago I’d have remembered your first name and the general topic, and sometimes some personal info. As I’ve hit my 50s, however, that skill has been dropping off. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2019, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-excel-at-anything/835377/75 "2019-06-14T23:42:55Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > Yeah, but rolling across their toes is kinda cheating. But that’s just the thing: all I need in order to instill the fear of the Rolling Foot Smasher into a person is to be within, oh say, 25 feet of them. I could be on the opposite side of the hallway and a person walking in the opposite direction that far away will make sudden, over-the-top, herky jerky jump moves as if if it wasnt for their vigilant gymnastics I would just plow head-on straight into them. No actual contact of foot with wheel required. How dare you accuse me of cheating?! ---
**Author:** ![pohjonen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pohjonen/32/423_2.png) [@pohjonen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pohjonen)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2019, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-excel-at-anything/835377/76 "2019-06-15T01:41:19Z")
Song parodies. They roll right out of my brain. I was especially pleased with **[Everybody Must Get Groped.](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=863065)** ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2019, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-excel-at-anything/835377/77 "2019-06-15T01:47:36Z")
Seeing the good in even the most pain in the butt kids, and helping them see it as well. ---
**Author:** ![Obeseus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbce88/32.png) [@Obeseus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Obeseus)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2019, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-excel-at-anything/835377/78 "2019-06-15T04:58:21Z")
In high school long ago, my fastest timing in typing class was 122 words per minute. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2019, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-excel-at-anything/835377/79 "2019-06-15T05:30:02Z")
> [@ZonexandScout](#): > > Yes. If there’s one thing I’ve figured out over the years, it’s that you can excel at just about anything if you stick with it long enough. Not necessary true. I was really into golf for a few years, including going once a week and taking lessons. I got much better than I started, but never broke 100. I’m just a terrible athlete. I enjoyed going with my friends who were shooting in the 90s but lacked the coordination to be competitive. ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2019, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-excel-at-anything/835377/80 "2019-06-15T10:39:37Z")
Referencing an older, similar thread. I am (or at least was) unusually good at spatial awareness and moving/driving large machines. The following are things I’ve done as a job: -I can reverse (back in) tractor trailers and other trucks with uncanny accuracy. One job involved taking trucks from their drivers (they weren’t allowed to park them) and packing them 20 at a time so close you could not walk between them. -I can sort and shoehorn lots of airplanes into a hangar with a tug. I “memorize” the shape and size of the space and push the plane into it without needing to check again. It’s kind of like a giant puzzle. I did this on a night shift by myself (no observers) for over a year. -I can operate a large crane (35 ton) on a floating vessel, and place loads on other vessels (also bobbing on the waves) with uncanny accuracy. I’ve even placed loads on vessels while underway (moving past us, it was necessary in a few odd situations). I also operated a crane holding equipment for divers 5-600 feet below. I had to position the loads watching a closed circuit camera and compensate for waves as the divers worked. -I “drove” a large semi-submersible vessel for a few years (it crawled along the seabed using a spiderweb of cables anchored to the seafloor). I occasionally had to snuggle up close to oil rigs without bumping them. I would frequently get calls from the divers to “move starboard 8 inches”. The vessel was 650 feet long and 45,000 tons, so accurate placement was very difficult. -I’ve mentioned here before, I’m a licensed commercial pilot and flight instructor, and although not as difficult as the items above, this does require some spatial skills. Non-work: -I can tow double-trailer setups and back the entire thing into any spot you choose (truck, camper and boat). I’ve had many combinations of these and have done this for years on family trips. These are ~70 foot long, 12-wheeled rigs, not something small. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-excel-at-anything/835377.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-excel-at-anything/835377.md?page=5)